“What he has to appreciate is, as soon as you walk into this office once you’ve been sworn in you’re now in charge of the largest organisation on earth,” Mr Obama said.

“You can’t manage it the way you’d manage a family business.”

Pushed on whether or not he liked the outspoken president-elect, Mr Obama said: “I’ve enjoyed the conversations we’ve had. He’s somebody who is not lacking in confidence which is a perquisite for the job.

“You have to have enough craziness to think you can do the job.”

ABC

Barack Obama made the comments during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos

Donald Trump is set to take over the Oval Office from the outgoing president on January 20.

During the feisty US election campaign, Barack Obama vigorously backed fellow Democrat Hilary Clinton warning “eight years of hard work could be undone” if the former Secretary of State did not win.

One of the billionaire businessman’s election promises was to scrap the controversial health care act commonly known as ObamaCare.

Asked if he believed his legacy-defining act, which some critics say is an excessive government intrusion into the healthcare market, would survive a Trump presidency, Mr Obama said: “I think it will”.

"It may be called something else. And as I said, I don't mind. If in fact the Republicans make some modifications, some of which I may have been seeking previously, but they wouldn't cooperate because they didn't want to make the system work, and relabel it as Trumpcare, I'm fine with that.”

Although Mr Obama said he did not believe the GOP would come up with a better alternative, he warned Republicans against undoing that progress just because his name is attached to it.

"It is true theoretically that all that progress can be undone, and suddenly 20 million people or more don't have health insurance," Mr Obama said.

"I think Republicans now are recognising that may not be what the American people, including even Trump voters, are looking for.

"Don't undo things just because I did them. I don't have pride of authorship," he finished.